Evolutionary Change in Human-Altered Environments — Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA

evolutionary change in human-altered environments — The journal Molecular Ecology published the papers presented by more than 40 prominent biologists at the summit in its January 3, 2008 Special Issue.

CTR and the Institute of Environment and Sustainability sponsored an international summit in February 2007 to discuss the effects of human activity on climate change, habitat degradation, captive breeding and exploitation, and invasive species and pathogens.

View journal issue
Summit Report

With the global human population reaching seven billion in 2011, human impacts are causing changes in the evolutionary processes underlying and maintaining diversity. The average rate of loss for animal and plant populations and their habitats is estimated to be 1% annually, with two-thirds of the world’s terrestrial land area now devoted directly to supporting human populations, either through agriculture, fisheries, urbanization, or infrastructure. As a consequence of these impacts, we are witnessing a global, but unplanned, evolutionary experiment with the biotic diversity of the planet. Growing empirical evidence indicates that human-induced evolutionary changes impact every corner of the globe. Such changes are occurring rapidly, even at the level of a human lifespan, bear huge economical costs and pose serious threats to both humans and the biodiversity of the planet. Evolutionary phenomena, such as industrial melanism in the peppered moth (Biston betularia) — a classical example of rapid evolution driven by humans once considered atypical — are now becoming commonplace. The Center for Tropical Research is leading several research efforts to understand how humans are changing evolutionary processes.

Related Publications

How the zebra got its stripes: a problem with too many solutions

Larison, B.; Harrigan, R. J.; Thomassen, H.; Rubenstein, D. I.; Chan-Golston, A. M.; Li, E.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2015 | Royal Society Open Science 2

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Safeguarding biodiversity: what is perceived as working according to the conservation community?

Chapman, C. A.; DeLuycker, A.; Reyna-Hurtado, R. A.; Serio-Silva, J. C.; Smith, T. B.; Strier, K. B.; Goldberg, T. L.

Published Work 2014 | Oryx 50(2), 302-307

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Prescriptive evolution to conserve and manage biodiversity

Smith, T.B; Kinnison, M.; Strauss, S.; Fuller, T.; Scott, P.

Published Work 2014 | Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 45, 1.1–1.22

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Coevolutionary patterns and diversification of avian malaria parasites in African Sunbirds (Family Nectariniidae)

Lauron, E. J.; Loiseau, C.; Bowie, R. C.; Spicer, G. S.; Smith, T. B.; Melo, M.; Sehgal, R. N.

Published Work 2014 | Parasitology 142(5), 635-647

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Applying evolutionary biology to address global challenges

Carroll, S. P.; Jørgensen, P. S.; Kinnison, M. T.; Bergstrom, C. T.; Denison, R. F.; Gluckman, P.; Smith, T. B.; Strauss, S. Y.; Tabashnik, B. E.

Published Work 2014 | Science 346(6207)

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

A continental risk assessment of West Nile virus under climate change

Harrigan, R. J.; Thomassen, H.; Buermann, W.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2014 | Global Change Biology 2014, 20 (8), 2417–2425

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Metapopulation dynamics enable persistence of Influenza A, including A/H5N1, in poultry

Hosseini, P. R.; Fuller, T.; Harrigan, R.; Zhao, D.; Arriola, C. S.; Gonzales, A.; Miller, M. J.; Xiao, X.; Smith, T. B.; Holland Jones, J.; Daszak, P.

Published Work 2014 | PLoS ONE 8(12)

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Pathogen-host associations and predicted range shifts of human Monkeypox in response to climate change in Central Africa

Thomassen, H. A.; Fuller, T. L.; Asefi-Najafabady, S.; Shiplacoff, J. A.; Mulembakani, P. M.; Blumberg, S.; Johnston, S. C.; Kisalu, N. K.; Kinkela, T. L.; Fair, J. N.; Wolfe, N. D.; Shongo, R. L.; LeBreton, M.; Meyer, H.; Wright, L. L.; Muyembe, J.; Buermann, W.; Okitolonda, E.; Hensley, L. E.; Lloyd-Smith, J. O.; Smith, T. B.; Rimoin, A. W.

Published Work 2013 | PLoS ONE 8(7)

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Predicting bird song from space

Smith, T. B.; Harrigan, R. J.; Kirschel, A. N.; Buermann, W.; Saatchi, S.; Blumstein, D. T.; de Kort, S. R.; Slabbekoorn, H.

Published Work 2013 | Evolutionary Applications 6(6), 865–874

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

The ecology of emerging infectious diseases in migratory birds: an assessment of the role of climate change and priorities for future research

Fuller, T.; Bensch, S.; Muller, I.; Novembre, J.; Perez-Tris, J.; Ricklefs, R. E.; Smith, T. B.; Waldenstrom, J.

Published Work 2012 | EcoHealth 9, 80–88

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Host and habitat specialization of avian malaria in Africa

Loiseau, C.; Harrigan, R. J.; Robert, A.; Bowie, R. C.; Thomassen, H. A.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2011 | Molecular Ecology 21(2), 431–441

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Evolutionary principles and their practical application

Hendry, A. P.; Kinnison, M. T.; Heino, M.; Day, T.; Smith, T. B.; Fitt, G.; Bergstrom, C.; Oakeshott, J.; Jørgensen, P. S.; Zalucki, M.; Southerton, S.; Sih, A.; Denison, R. F.; Carroll, S. P.

Published Work 2011 | Evolutionary Application 4(2), 159–183

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Human-induced morphological shifts in an island lizard.

Marnocha, E.; Pollinger, J.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2011 | Evolutionary Applications 4(2), 388–396

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Mapping evolutionary process: a multi-taxa approach to conservation prioritization

Thomassen, H. A.; Fuller, T.; Buermann, W.; Milá, B.; Kieswetter, C.; Jarrín-V, P.; Cameron, S. E.; Mason, E.; Schweizer, R.; Schlunegger, J.; Chan, J.; Wang, O.; Peralvo, M.; Schneider, C. J.; Graham, C. H.; Pollinger, J. P.; Saatchi, S.; Wayne, R. K.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2011 | Evolutionary Applications 4(2), 397–413

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Economic conditions predict prevalence of West Nile virus

Harrigan, R. J.; Thomassen, H. A.; Buermann, W.; Cummings, R. F.; Kahn, M. E.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2010 | PLoS ONE 5(11)

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Using remote sensing to map the risk of human monkeypox virus in the Congo Basin

Fuller, T. H.; Thomassen, H. A.; Mulembakani, P. M.; Johnston, S. S.; Lloyd-Smith, J. O.; Kisalu, N. K.; Lutete, T. K.; Blumberg, S.; Fair, J. N.; Wolfe, N. D.; Shongo, R. L.; Formenty, P.; Meyer, H.; Wright, L. L.; Muhembe, J.; Buermann, W.; Saatchi, S. S.; Okitolonda, E.; Hensley, L.; Smith, T. B.; Rimoin, A. W.

Published Work 2010 | EcoHealth 8(1), 14-25

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Projected changes in elevational distribution and flight performance of montane neotropical hummingbirds in response to climate change

Buermann, W.; Chaves, J. A.; Dudley, R.; Mcguire, J. A.; Smith, T. B.; Altshuler, D. L.

Published Work 2010 | Global Change Biology 17(4), 1671–1680

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Human impacts flatten rainforest-savanna gradient and reduce adaptive diversity in a rainforest bird

Freedman, A. H.; Buermann, W.; Mitchard, E. T.; DeFries, R. S.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2010 | PLoS ONE 5(9)

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Prevalence and diversity patterns of avian blood parasites in degraded African rainforest habitats

Chasar, A.; Loiseau, C.; Valkiūnas, G.; Iezhova, T.; Smith, T. B.; Sehgal, R. N.

Published Work 2009 | Molecular Ecology 18(19), 4121–4133

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Character displacement of song and morphology in African tinkerbirds

Kirschel, A. N.; Blumstein, D. T.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2009 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, 8256–8261

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Modeling the effects of anthropogenic habitat change on savanna snake invasions into African rainforest

Freedman, A. H.; Buermann, W.; LeBreton, M.; Chirio, L.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2008 | Conservation Biology 23(1), 81-92

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

The importance of conserving evolutionary processes

Smith, T. B.; Grether, G.

Published Work 2008

Preface to the special issue: Evolutionary change in human-altered environments

Smith, T. B.; Bernatchez, L.

Published Work 2007 | Molecular Ecology 17(1), 1–8

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

A Report on the Results and Recommendations of the International Summit on Evolutionary Change in Human-altered Environments

Glickfeld, M.; Smith, T.B.; Bernatchez, L.; Nichols, M.

Progress Report 2007

Evolutionary consequences of human disturbance in a rainforest bird species from Central Africa

Smith, T. B.; Mila, B.; Grether, G. F.; Slabbekoorn, H.; Sepil, I.; Buermann, W.; Saatchi, S.; Pollinger, J. P.

Published Work 2007 | Molecular Ecology 17(1), 58–71

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Hunting of mammals reduced seed removal and dispersal of the Afrotropical tree, Antrocaryon klaineanum (Anacardiaceae).

Wang, B. C.; Sork, V. L.; Leong, M. T.; Smith, T. B.

Published Work 2007 | Biotropica 39(3), 340–347

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

A southern California freeway is a physical and social barrier to gene flow in carnivores

Riley, S. P.; Pollinger, J. P.; Sauvajot, R. M.; York, E. C.; Bromley, C.; T. L.

Published Work 2006 | Molecular Ecology 15(7), 1733–1741

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Current and historical factors influencing patterns of species richness and turnover of birds in the Gulf of Guinea highlands.

Smith, C. H.; Smith, T. B.; Languy, M.

Published Work 2005 | Journal of Biogeography 32, 1371–1384

Putting process on the map: Why ecotones are important for preserving biodiversity

Smith, T. B.; Saatchi, S.; Graham, C.; Slabbekoorn, H.; Spicer, G.

Published Work 2005 | Phylogeny and Conservation

Conservation in conflict: The tale of two endangered species

Roemer, G. W.; Wayne, R. K.

Published Work 2003 | Conservation Biology 17(5), 1251–1260.

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Considering evolutionary processes in conservation biology

Crandall, K. A.; Bininda-Emonds, O. R.; Mace, G. M.; Wayne, R. K.

Published Work 2000 | Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15(7), 290–295

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

Evolutionary consequences of extinctions in populations of a Hawaiian honeycreeper

Smith, T. B.; Freed, L. A.; Lepson, J. K.; Carothers, J. H.

Published Work 1995 | Conservation Biology 9(1), 107–113

Social media impact badge provided by Altmetric

The preservation of process: the missing element of conservation programs

Smith, T. B.; Bruford, M. W.; Wayne, R. K.

Published Work 1993 | Biodiversity Letters 1(6), 164–167